Council mulls mission, objectives

It was supposed to be an eight-hour retreat at the Inn at Kelly's Ford for council members to discuss a mission, goals and objectives for long-term use in the town of Culpeper.

But when three council members didn't show and two others had to leave before 12:30 p.m., it seemed a lost quorum wouldn't suffice for more discussion on the town's strategic planning process.

Council members Chip Coleman, Duke duFrane and Michael Olinger did not attend. Council members Emma Richards and Steve Jenkins left early.

When the Star-Exponent arrived, just before 1 p.m., officials said the meeting was over. Even the wait staff was surprised at the early departure and didn't know who to give the bill to when all officials had left except the mayor, who said Town Manager Brannon Godfrey would handle it.

For Mayor Pranas Rimeikis, the meeting was worthwhile. He said he was pleased with the progress made that entailed drafting a preliminary mission statement - something the town doesn't have.

Rimeikis said council would need between four and six more retreat-type meetings to talk about the big picture before a mission statement and long-term strategic plan would be ready for citizen input and future adoption.

After four hours of discussion, the work session generated a rough draft form of a mission statement that will change as more council members participate to define the town's purpose.

On a large piece of easel paper taped to the brick wall in the Inn's main dining room read the drafted statement: "Focus and maintain a high quality of life for our citizens while preserving stewardship of tax revenue."

Council members Jim Risner and Chris Snider found the philosophical meeting beneficial that asked questions like, "What is the function of town government-" or "Who are our customers and what do they value-"

Godfrey said the questions might seem simple but council has not taken the time to sit back and look at the big-picture perspective in a while.

The last attempt at drafting a mission statement occurred in 2004 but other more specific issue-related items took precedence.

"The last retreats we had, it was driven by a big single issue or list of capital projects or operational changes we were exploring," Godfrey said. "But we have not in a long time stepped back and asked the simple questions about what it is we are trying to do and ways to measure our success."

Once the mission, overarching values and vision of the town is defined, Godfrey said it would narrow to goals and objectives for various functions of town government.

Council members looked at mission statements from other cities in Virginia, California and Florida to help in the brainstorming process. Some of these localities identified their goals and a specific timeframe in which to accomplish them as part of their documents.

For Culpeper, Rimeikis said the mission statement has focused on fiscal responsibility and quality of life.

But his quality of life might be different from someone else's, so council needs to further define this and then would like feedback from citizens, he said.

While specific issues would have detracted from the purpose of an overarching strategic plan, Rimeikis said there were some issues that all in attendance agreed needed to be included in a future plan, such as transportation and recreation needs.

Economic development is also vital to growing communities.

Rimeikis said the type of development is different in an urban environment rather from that in a rural one.

For example, the high-tech industry of Terremark, locating in Culpeper County, could not have been supported in the town because there is just not enough space for a data center of its size, he said.

Retreat participants agreed that economic development puts less of a burden on taxpayers, which speaks to the goal of being better stewards of taxpayer money.

"As we continue and everyone participates, we can flesh out all the areas," Rimeikis said, adding that the planning process will provide a road map to keep town government accountable and on track with its goals.

He suggests reviewing it every two years at the mid-term between elections to continually re-evaluate the town's plans and treat it as a living document.

He hopes a mission statement and strategic plan could be ready for citizen input by the year's end.

Liz Mitchell can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 110 or

Exemplary statements
As the town works to write its vision and mission
statement, here are some examples evaluated at Saturday's retreat:

City of Chesapeake mission statement: "The employees of the City of Chesapeake are committed to providing quality service to all citizens equitably, in a responsive and caring manner."

City of Williamsburg vision for the future: "Williamsburg will become an evermore safe, beautiful, livable city of historic and academic renown, served by a city government - cohesively led, financially strong, always improving - in full partnership with the people who live, work and visit here."

City of San Bruno, Calif., mission statement: "The City of San Bruno exists to provide exemplary services for our community that enhance and protect the quality of life."